009

On his right thumb, a seal formed in black, glowing brightly despite it being daytime. A line of black travelled from his thumb towards all five of his fingers, leaving ancient markings on the tip of each finger.

The glowing black lines converged at his palm, forming an ancient inscription, one that was not in any of the common languages.

Quiv who stood in place, eavesdropping in rage, failed to even take notice of the shifting, and rather focused all his attention on standing still, listening to the two converse.

"Don't write to me unless the job is done." The order came from the one seated in the carriage, "I'll be off then." And just like that, he signalled his rider to take off.

His mage rider headed to the command and spread his arms out in front, summoning a portal for them to ride through, back to the capital.

The intensity of the mana used to activate the spell was strong enough to stun anyone within close proximity. Anyone, except for Quiv, who simply walked back from whence he came, staring down at the dirt.

"What the hell...what the hell...what the hell... What the..." He chanted whilst he waltzed past stall owners and peddlers, paying no attention to anyone or anything. Not even to his own self.

So much so, that his shoulders crashed against a trader who balanced a basket of Mana fruits under his armpit. Fruits grown only at the capital, said to grant the eater a fixed amount of strength for a period of time.

In other words, the most sought out fruit in the outskirts of the kingdom, thereby earning the title of most expensive thing in the market.

"Brat! Can't you watch where you're stepping? I almost dropped these unto the soil!" The trader argued, calling back the fazed Quiv who had no idea about what he had done and continued to walk away.

The egoistic trader would not have it, and pulled him back by the shoulder, looking for some sort of apology from the youngster. His left hand seized Quiv by the collar and brought his face to his, with intentions to intimidate Quiv.

"What the HELL!!!" Quiv yelled, his eyes flashing from a plain blue to a menacing red, black veins highlighted underneath his eyes, running down to the side of his lips.

The trader's grip loosened completely on both his collar and the basket of Mana fruits he had in his possession. The sacred fruits rolled around on the soil, spread out too far to be gathered.

"Mo...Mon.... monster!" He cried out as he landed unto his behind, paralysed in complete fear, crawling backwards, using his elbow to shield his gaze from Quiv's face.

The youngster who was still soaked in anger, suddenly remembered something from the conversation he had eavesdropped on. He subsequently calmed down, and took to his heels, messily running through the market, making his way back from whence he came.

To the Naga's cave.

**********

Tavee couldn't help but wonder if something had happened to Quivier at the market and contemplated fetching him. Malkin had woken up quite some time ago, and was slinging curses at his brother's name ever since.

"Go back to sleep Malki." Eira chided him, trying her hardest to push him back to the nest. But he overpowered her even when sick and sat on her back, preventing her from moving.

"I'm much more stronger than that loser brother of mine, Quiv must have run away scared." Malkin told his peers, a cocky grin spread across his freckled cheeks. He went on to retell stories of how cowardly Quiv used to be back in their village. Stories he exaggerated a bit to make himself sound more heroic.

"It's almost like I'm the older brother." He announced with all seriousness.

"Get off her Malkin!" Tavee exerted a little force in his tone, warning the kid from getting any cocky ideas whatsoever.

Malkin who had gotten so comfortable with sitting on Eira honestly thought that she was a chair at some point. He jumped off her back, sneering at her weak body.

"Apologise to her, while you were sick, she was the only one that cared enough to want to look after you. And that brother you're speaking so cruelly of, didn't get an inch of sleep. As we speak, he's out trying to find herbs to make medication for your fever. Don't you think you should be a little more grateful?" As soon as Tavee ended his lecture, Quiv ran inside the cave, a worried expression drawn all over his face.

The children who had grown up and knew the weak Quiv, had never seen him in such a panicked state before. Hence, they genuinely felt the need to get worried.

"What's wrong?" Tavee asked, pushing a rag cloth to his face to wipe off the sweat that streamed down from his forehead to his chest.

"Everything." Quiv answered, wiping his face with the rag, clutching tightly unto it to cage his rage, a rage that seemed to be fuelled by something. Something strong.

Tavee who understood how out of hand things could get, gave each child a green crystal and asked them to go play outside for a bit.

Quiv wanted to protest, but the Naga's eyes assured him that they were perfectly safe at the entrance of his cave.

Once all the children, including the hardheaded Malkin had given them a good hearing distance, Tavee gestured Quiv to narrate what the problem was.

Quiv who still believed everything that was happening could be a dream, was thrown into brutal reality. Hard.

He spared no part of what happened and told Tavee how the fire that destroyed his village was planned by some nobles. And how the men they hired went as far as to burn people who survived, all for their amusement.

But, the most important part of the narration was what he saved for last, Quiv knew that telling the Naga could either be favorable for them or cause new tensions.

"They're planning to attack the orphanages around these areas, and kill off any last survivors. That's why we can't take these children to an orphanage, I'm sorry to ask, but could you let them stay in this cave? For just some weeks. Till the whole search does down." He pleaded, having not only his brother in mind, but all the other children as well.

"I think it's fine if I drop them off at the orphanage, and today of all days is best." He calmly said, ignoring all that Quiv had just narrated, disregarding it rather.

"Weren't you listening to me? The children are in danger if they stay here, that fire wasn't some accident..."

"I know. I figured as much." He chimed into the conversation, walking around his cave, stretching his manly legs.

The sentence hadn't sunk fully into Quiv's head, it took him a minute to listen and comprehend what Tavee said to him.

"You...You knew?! And yet..." He took a pause, finding it hard to breathe normally, his tensed shoulders jerked up and down uncontrollably. Quiv could feel a string of unfamiliar power course through his body, spreading across his blood vessels.

"I could sense strong Mana at the starting point of the fire. Considering how poor your village was, I figured no one there could possibly harness such an amount. Which, forgive me for saying this, was the real reason I rescued those children. I figured they would come in handy one way or the other. But keep in..." He suddenly took a pause, finding it hard to utter the next word. Tavee sensed a strong oppressive aura around him, weakening him.

The Naga managed to tilt his head to the side, his widened eyes caught a glimpse of Quiv, whose aura had shifted completely.

There was no trace of the usual innocence that enveloped him, instead, a flaming menacing presence consumed him whole.

'Such power coming from someone as powerless as him, it isn't magic, this is something far more sinister.' Tavee deduced, struggling against the force that oppressed him.

A string of realisation snapped in his head, a thought he hoped against flashed across his mind.

Quiv's eyes shifted from blue to red for a mere moment, something Tavee did not fail to notice. Using what might he had left, he pulled out a sword from underneath his nest and lunged forward.

Quiv who didn't even realize what was going on, only just regained his senses, and saw Tavee lung towards him, raising a mighty blade over his head. Prepared to take a swing at him, resolve drawn across his face.

Normally, Quiv was too slow in combat to even realise when an opponent was coming right at him.

But in this case, things were different, slower, it were as though time had reduced it's pace and made everything around him slow.

Infact, Quiv felt as though he could mix his black market herbs right that instant and still find time to dodge the attack.

'How? Just how am I able to see him in this pace? Did I level up in my sleep?'

'No, it's just me.' A voice in his head answered, giving him a reason for the turn of events.

Quiv's face relaxed for a second when he got an explanation for why things were suddenly so slow. But tensed up immediately after, once he realised there was a voice in his head!